Chapter 11
'Sir! At last we have found something!' came Vikram's excited voice over the phone.
'What is it?' asked Daya.
'I spoke to the gym owner. He recognised Divya. She was the one who had come to steal Jia's diary.' said Vikram breathlessly.
'Fantastic. Now inform all the local police station and city exit points about this. I want barricades put everywhere. Scan and send her photograph to every police station. I will speak with ACP sir. We will give orders to detain her at the nearest police station. She shouldn't escape. I am sure she's the one who had killed Jia. I am going to her old place of residence to speak with the owner.' said Daya.
'Yes sir.' said Vikram in an urgent voice.
'I want you to join me after you finish this. And yes, get a hearing machine with you' said Daya. 'It's for the dead owner to listen carefully and speak'
Vikram laughed. 'Right sir. I will be there in an hour'
O-o-o-o
Next Day -
The CID bureau was in frenzy. There was a flurry of activity and no one had time a single spare moment.
'The owner didn't say much but he remembered Divya. She was Jia's roommate. Nobody knew about her because she was sharing apartment with Jia during very early stage of her career. Jia wasn't famous at that time.' Daya told ACP Pradyuman.
'And you say she was the one who broke into her previous owner's house and attacked Shreya?' asked ACP Pradyuman.
'Yes. I think she had come to destroy all the evidences. It's obvious that she didn't want us to know about her connection with Jia. The case is all over media. She must have come to know that we are holding enquiry where Jia stayed during her struggling period' said Daya.
ACP Pradyuman was about to speak when the door opened and Shreya walked in.
She was surrounded immediately by her colleagues asking her whether she all right.
'Feeling better Shreya?' asked ACP Pradyuman.
'Yes sir' she said smiling.
'You really did a wonderful job, working that out from Jia's diary entries.' said ACP Pradyuman.
'Thank you sir' said Shreya. She then turned to look at Daya who hadn't spoken a single word since her arrival.
She gave him a small smile and a look which assured him that she was indeed feeling better.
He finally gave her a small nod of approval and a swift smile.
'We have to get hold of her sir, else this is going to be very difficult' said Vikram
'Any updates since her escape yesterday?' asked ACP Pradyuman.
'Escape?' asked Shreya.
'The local police had almost nabbed her at Marine Drive yesterday but somehow she escaped. She checked into some hotel under a fake name. One of the hotel staff recognised her as he had seen her photograph on the on the televsion. But she got the whiff and she escaped once again. She has been on run since then. We have sent a team and tightened the security. Hopefully, she will be in our custody soon' said ACP Pradyuman.
'Sir the press is here' said Pankaj walking in.
'Good. Daya come with me' said ACP Pradyuman and together they walked out of the cabin.
'ACP sir wants to do a press release urging those who know Divya to come forward and help the police. Her relatives, friends. Maybe they can tell us to which places she would possibly go' Pankaj explained.
'Huh! This is really frustrating' ssid Shreya slumping into a nearby chair.
'I still don't understand the motive behind the murder' said Pankaj.
'I can think of only one motive at the moment - revenge. The way Jia had written about Divya in her diary, something must have gone terribly wrong between them. Maybe Jia did something bad when she became famous ad Divya murdered her to seek revenge' said Shreya.
'Hmm. Maybe' said Pankaj.
Few Hours later -
'Mam, there's a lady who claiming to be Divya's aunt. She says she has something to tell us' said Jaywanti.
'Bring her in' said Shreya urgently.
She grabbed a pencil and a paper and put the recorder on. Her nerves were jangling with excitement.
In no time, a short plump woman was ushered inside. She looked slightly nervous and offered Shreya a weak smile.
Shreya offered her a seat and signalled Jaywanti to sit next to her.
'Please take a seat' said Shreya and offered her a glass of water.
'T -thank you' she said nervously.
'There is no need to be afraid. Please relax. Can you just tell me your name?' asked Shreya gently.
'M -meena Iyer. I- I saw Divya over the news and decided to come here. She - she is innocent. She didn't do anything' said Meena.
'Yes. I appreciate that you came forward and decided to help. Can we just start from the beginning? I'll ask you a few questions and you just have to answer them. There is no need to feel nervous.' said Shreya with a reassuring smile.
The woman nodded.
'I am recording our conversation so that I can show it to my senior' said Shreya and the woman nodded her approval.
'Who all are there in Divya's family?' asked Shreya.
'It's just me. Her parents passed away when she was young. I raised her after the demise of her parents. I wanted her to take higher studies. But Divya wanted to do modelling. So she came to Mumbai. She used to stay in touch over the phone. I knew she was staying as paying guest. So me and my husband decided to shift to Mumbai as well. We sold our house and bought a new flat in Mumbai. Divya stayed with us for some days and then she eventually moved out again with her boyfriend Ravi' said Meena making a disgusted face.
'Don't you like Ravi?' asked Shreya.
'There is nothing to like about him!' said Meena in an agitated voice. 'He is a broke. He destroyed my niece's life. I am sure he has something to do with Jia's murder!'
'Why is that?' asked Shreya.
'He is a crazy person. He would do anything to get revenge' said Meena.
'Okay, let's go over this step by step. Divya and Jia were friends, right? So what exactly happened with them?' asked Shreya.
'Jia and Divya were very good friends. They shared an apartment when they were struggling to get work in Bombay. I don't know what happened exactly but Jia got a big assignment and Divga didn't. Jia literally became a star overnight. Divya got very angry with her due to this. She kept telling me that Jia had cheated but how exactly, she didn't tell. Moreover, after becoming famous, Jia startee ignoring Divya. Divya had cried so many times over it. She was really hurt. I wanted her to continue her education and she had almost said yes when Ravi came into her life and led her back to the destructive path. He brought her petty modelling assignments and eventually she moved in with him. I and my husband tried to tell her that Ravi was not a good person but she didn't listen to us. She was madly in love with him' said Meena sniffing.
'Have you seen Ravi? What does he do for a living?' asked Shreya.
'I have seen him once or twice. He does portfolio for models. He runs a charity too. But I think it's a sham' said Meena.
'Why do you think he murdered Jia?' asked Shreya.
'He used to say that Divya didn't get her first assignement because Jia cheated on her' said Meena.
'But how would murdering Jia help Ravi? Murdering Jia wasn't going to get Divya her assignment back.' said Shreya.
'But her death would make him rich. Divya had told me once that Jia had agreed to give some amount to his charity'said Meena.
'And that amount would be received after Jia's death?' asked Shreya.
'Maybe. I don't know exactly. But he is a bad guy. I know it.' said Meena.
'What's name of his charity?' asked Shreya.
'I am sorry but I don't know' said Meena.
'Do you have Ravi's photograph, contact number or address?' asked Shreya.
'No'
'Can you remember what he looks like? Can you help us make a sketch of him?' asked Shreya.
'I have seen him just twice. I don't think I will be able to make his sketch for you' said Meena.
'Well, just tell our sketch artist whatever you can remember.' said Shreya.
'Okay' agreed Meena.
'Is there anything else you want to tell? Anything suspicious?' asked Shreya.
'No. I can't think of anything at the moment.'
'Jia was murdered with a butcher knife. Have you seen it anywhere in Divya's room or something?' asked Shreya
'No' said Meena.
'Okay. Thank you for coming Mrs Iyer. You provided us very useful information.' said Shreya.
'What about my niece? You won't punish her, will you?'
'If she is innocent, we will let her go. But right now I cannot guarantee you anything because she is on run. Because the police are looking for her everywhere since last night' said Shreya.
'Well, she must be scared!' said Meena.
'Why is she afraid if she hasn't done anything?' asked Shreya.
'But you don't have any proof against her, do you?' asked Meena.
'We want her for questioning. And she is a prime suspect in an attempt to break into a house and a gym locker and attacking a CID officer' said Shreya.
'What?! This can't be true!' said Meena sounding terrified.
'We will keep you posted Mrs Iyer. I assure you that if she is not guilty, nothing will happen to her' ssid Shreya. 'Now I will arrange for the sketch artist. Please tell whatever detail you remember about Ravi'
'Yes' said Meena.
'Just one last question. Can you think of any place where Divya can go? Do you know any place she frequented? Where is she likely to hide while on run from the cops?' asked Shreya.
'No. I cannot think of any' said Meena after a minute.
Shreya nodded and ushered Meena Iyer outside. Then she went to ACP Pradyuman's cabin to tell him and Daya about the things she had found out.
O-o-o-o
Minutes passed by and the day had almost come to an end. A special team had been deployed by CID to search for Divya but they had had no luck so far. The wait had put everyone in bad mood. The entire investigation had come to a standstill. Almost everyone was sure that Divya had killed Jia but unless she was found they could not gather concrete evidence to support their theory.
At 12.30 am just when they were about to leave for home, Vikram barged in, looking completely out of breath. 'Sir, the police have arrested Divya.' he announced amidst the cheers of relief.
'I want her here. Right now' said ACP Pradyuman.
'Sir, she will be here in no time' said Vikram.
O-o-o-o
Divya looked very calm when she was brought to the CID bureau. Her face was impassive and it showed neither nor remourse. She waited patiently in the interrogation room waiting for the questioning to begin.
'We have been looking for you since long, Divya', said ACP Pradyuman. 'You are our prime suspect in murder of model Jia D'souza. Also, we suspect that you and your crime partner attacked one of our CID officers'
There was a moment of pause and then Divya said, 'I don't deny it'